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Newton’s first law basically states
that when there are no interfering forces, objects move at a constant
velocity in a straight line; forever. Inertia is the property of objects
that makes them either tend to stay at rest or in motion; it resists
changes in motion. The lower the mass, the lower the inertia, so naturally
roller hockey pucks do not have a huge amount of inertia. That is why when
a puck hits the net, it stops without a problem. (See picture) But imagine
if a freight train hit the net at the same speed as the puck (70 mph)?
What would happen?
Newton’s second law situates the
relationship among force, mass, and acceleration into a formal equation:
F=ma. The greater the mass, the greater the force it takes to be
accelerated. Because the mass of a skater is constant (for all intents and
purposes), the greater the force he exerts against the rink, the greater
his acceleration will be. Here is a photo of a very fast skater, he must
exert a large amount of "push" (force) on the rink in order to accelerate
as fast as he does.
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